Little Joys

What brings a smile to your face? What instantaneously, and without warning, makes you grin from ear to ear?

For me, it has to be those little moments I share with my family. The giggles from my almost 5-month-old when his hand touches my face, the smile of my almost 2-year-old when she is pleased with herself, the picture of seeing my husband, my kids and I just enjoying each other's company and doing silly things (as you do when kids are around)--these moments are just so precious, and each moment has me exclaiming: life is good!

When my daughter calls out for me to cuddle her, and I get to hold her tight as she plays with my hair--life is good. When my son is feeding, and I can feel his warmth as he clutches my finger in his hand--life is good. When my husband and I both have one child on our laps, and we can cuddle, play and laugh together--life is good.

Yet for every moment that makes me smile, that has me thinking over and over that life is good, I am gripped with fear that these moments won't last for ever. And the reality is, they can't. For one, my children will eventually grow up, and there will come a day when they don't want to be cuddled and kissed anymore (fair enough). For another, no one can predict what would happen to the world tomorrow, or to us.

But I don't want that fear to ruin these moments--these little joys in life that make our hearts glad. I'm learning to savor every drop of them, and at the same time, learning to be trusting in the one that holds the future. When life's turmoil comes my way, I want to be able to look back and smile no matter how hard and painful life gets...

What about you? What are the little joys in your life? Treasure them, cherish them, and be thankful for them. They are life's little energy boosters :-)

Path

 

Life is a path well trodden,

But each man must walk his own.

*******************************************************

I couldn't articulate my thoughts into another poem except for the first two lines, so have given up being 'poetic' and will just type them out normally instead...

As I watched my daughter running down the path the other day, it came to my realisation that, as much as I would be reluctant to let go, my daughter must walk her own path as she grows up. As a mother it's normal to worry for your children--will they get sick, will they meet bad people and be led astray, will they be able to handle life's obstacles... The list never ends, and you worry for life, literally--well, at least I think I will. 

Yet as much as I worry, I cannot direct nor change my daughter's course of life. 

Accepting the fact that my daughter must walk her own path of life, I contemplated how she could trace and learn from the footsteps before her, and how I'd urge her to leave behind footsteps worthy of others to follow. But she is human, and she is not perfect. She will make mistakes, she will stumble and fall. The verdict? That's just the way life is. C'est la vie.

And then it came to me. There is one path that none but one had walked, and none can ever follow. It's the path that led to ultimate suffering and ultimate sacrifice. But that's not all. It also led to ultimate life. It dawned on me that, if only she can know this path, and Him who walked on it, then she would know she has never been, nor ever will be alone.

I will continue to worry--I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't. But I am comforted by the fact that the Author of Life has got everything under control, and that He will never leave my daughter's side. I can only pray that one day, she too will come to know Him and the meaning of the path He had walked.